JP2006504072A - Inspection instrument with disk - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a test cup that enables one-step processing in a true sense.
A urine collection cup for drug testing includes a cup body having a head, a bottom, and a transparent and flat side wall. At least one test strip is provided for evaluating the fluid sample and visually displaying the evaluation results. A disc sized to be inserted into the cup suspends the test piece in the vicinity of the flat side wall portion in the cup body at a distance where the evaluation result can be seen through the transparent flat side wall portion. In order to enable the transfer of the cup, a lid for sealing the cup head is provided. Furthermore, the lid can be engaged with the disk to remove the disk from the cup, if desired. Moreover, after taking out a test piece easily, a disk can also be left in a cover part as it is. In this case, the disc allows the cup to be sealed with a lid for transfer to the verification test site.

Description

  The present invention relates to a diagnostic test instrument, and more particularly to a cup containing a fluid sample such as a urine sample and an insertion disk for displaying the characteristics of the fluid sample.

A fluid sample, particularly a body fluid sample such as urine, is usually collected in a cup or the like and stored. The cup is sealed with a lid, but it is common to puncture the lid or remove the lid to transfer the sample to another test instrument.
When performing such a process, the sample liquid may spill and stain the surroundings. Such a processing error of the user may cause an erroneous inspection result.

Many instruments have been developed and marketed for the storage and testing of fluid samples, but these instruments are not easy to use and not convenient to use. For example, in the urine test cup described in Patent Document 1 below, a slotted lid is attached, and the user is forced to perform many manual operations during use. In addition, additional manual work is required to seal the cup after inspection.
Furthermore, in another type of cup described in Patent Document 2, it is necessary to vibrate the cup vigorously in order to perform the inspection. Further, in Patent Document 3 below, it is necessary to place the lid at a predetermined position, tilt the cup by a predetermined angle for a predetermined time, and wait until an inspection valid signal appears in order to perform inspection analysis.
U.S. Patent No. 5,976,895 U.S. Pat.No. 5,916,815 U.S. Pat.No. 5,403,551

  None of these or other conventional test cup instruments allow for a true one-step process. In the present invention, if a test instrument with a disk is inserted into a urine sample collected in advance in a cup, the test result is displayed without any action.

A drug test collection cup according to the present invention includes a cup body having a head, a bottom, and a transparent and flat side wall.
At least one test piece for evaluating a fluid sample such as urine and visually displaying the evaluation result is provided.
A disc sized to be inserted into the cup hangs the test piece in the vicinity of the flat side wall portion in the cup, and the distance at which the evaluation result can be seen through the transparent flat side wall portion.

In order to allow safe storage and transport, a lid for sealing the head of the cup is provided. Since there is a test piece near the transparent side wall, the test result can be easily determined without opening the cup. Furthermore, no agitation work, manual work or other processing is required to evaluate the fluid sample in the cup.
In particular, the flat side wall portion extends from the bottom of the cup to the vicinity of the cup head, and the test piece is arranged substantially parallel to the flat side wall portion. With such a structural configuration, it is possible to use a plurality of relatively long test pieces and observe from a flat viewing surface of the side wall.

  Further, the disk includes at least one member depending from the lower surface of the disk in order to detachably hold the test piece. It is also possible to support a plurality of test pieces with a disc. Further, if necessary, a plurality of test pieces can be permanently attached to the disk. However, more preferably, the member that grips the test piece allows the use of test pieces of different configurations in the present invention so that the user can finally select a specific evaluation test piece. is there.

In order to make the disk easy to handle, a finger grip is provided on the upper surface of the disk, so that the disk can be manually inserted into and removed from the cup as required.
The cup head is preferably circular and includes a thread that removably engages the lid. With this configuration, the fluid can be sealed. In addition, the disc has a circular outer periphery so that the user can easily insert the disc into the cup.

  The lid may include means for engaging the disc when the lid seals the cup. This means makes it possible to remove the disc together with the lid when the lid is removed from the cup. This embodiment is suitable for storing or transporting a cup without a test piece. In this case, a second lid for sealing the cup after the first lid and the disk are removed from the cup is provided. Further, the test piece can be easily taken out (pulled out) from the disc with the disc attached to the lid. The lid / disk assembly can be placed on the cup and rotated to seal and transfer the cup. The disc has a thin sealing surface as a packing between the lid and the cup on its outer periphery.

  The advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 3 show a drug test collection cup 10 according to the present invention. The cup 10 has a cup body 12 including a transparent and flat side wall portion 14. Thereby, the structure for the transparent and flat observation of the test piece or card 20 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is realized.
Referring also to FIG. 4, the disk 22 has a size that can be inserted into the cup head (top) 24. The disc 22 is in the vicinity of the flat and transparent side wall portion 14 in the cup body 12 and suspends the test piece 20 at a distance where the evaluation result shown by the test piece can be visually observed through the side wall portion 14.

The cup 12, the disk 22, and the lid portion 28 (see FIG. 3) are formed of an appropriate material such as polystyrene, polyethylene, or polypropylene, but are not limited thereto. The test piece 20 can be of any suitable manufacturer for evaluating a liquid sample such as urine and visually displaying the evaluation results.
In order to prevent the cups 10 from being separated from each other when the cups 10 are fitted and stacked, a rib 30 may be provided. Such stacking of cups, which is possible due to the structure of the cup 10, is preferred from the viewpoint of storage and transportation.

The rigid side wall 14 allows for a spacing of about 0.10 inch to 0.20 inch between the card or specimen 20 and the side wall. It will be appreciated that these dimensions are quoted as actual designs and that other spacings may be appropriate in some cases.
In FIG. 4, the disk 22 includes members 34, 36 depending from the lower surface 40 of the disk. These members 34 and 36 are preferably integrally formed with the disc at an interval so as to form a gap 42 for inserting a test piece or card 20 therebetween. Since these members 34 and 36 have elasticity, it is possible to press-fit the test piece 20, remove the test piece 20, adjust the position, and arrange a plurality of test pieces in parallel. Also, as shown in FIGS. 4-7, the disk 22 includes a finger grip 46 integrally formed with the upper surface 48 thereof.

The recess 50 provides an empty space for putting a finger on the grip 46. With this configuration, the disk can be handled even if there is nothing protruding from the disk upper surface 48.
The cup body 12 has a circular head 24. The head 24 can be screwed with a lid 28 having a thread 54 to seal the cup head 24. The disc 22 preferably further has a circular outer periphery and a protrusion 58 that acts as an outer peripheral flange that seals the contact surface with the cup. This ridge extends from the disk and becomes a means for engaging the lid portion 28 when the lid portion 28 is screwed to the cup head 24. As shown in FIG. 7, the engagement is achieved by forcing the ridge 28 over the thread of the lid.

That is, the test piece 20 can be taken out from the cup 12 by rotating and removing the lid portion 28 together with the disk having the protrusions 28. Since the disk 22 is flexible, the disk 22 can rotate within the lid 28 and the cup body 12 while removing the test piece 20.
Thereafter, the cup 12 is sealed with the second lid. This lid may be the same as that indicated by reference numeral 28 in the accompanying drawings. It is also possible to leave the disk 22 in the lid 28 together with the outer peripheral ridge or flange 58 acting as a seal after taking out the test piece.

The means for engaging the disk 22 with the lid portion 28 is realized by the protrusion 58 and the thread 54, but other suitable means for enabling the engagement between the disk 22 and the lid portion 28 are also within the scope of the present invention. Is considered.
However, the protrusion 28 and the screw thread 54 of the lid portion realize a simple and economical engagement means that cannot be realized by other engagement devices not shown.

  As described above, the drug test collection method according to the present invention has been described for the purpose of illustrating a method that can advantageously use the present invention, but it will be understood that the present invention is not limited to this example. Accordingly, any changes, modifications, or equivalent configurations that can be considered by those skilled in the art are considered to be included within the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

1 is a perspective view of a drug test collection cup according to the present invention, showing an entire cup having a flat side surface and a disc disposed thereon. FIG. It is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1, and shows the position of the chemical | medical agent test piece arrange | positioned inside the cup by the transparent cup and the disc. It is a side view which shows the state which cut | disconnected the instrument of FIG.1 and FIG.2 with the cover part for sealing a cup. In a side view of a disc according to the invention, a means for removably gripping a specimen or card and a finger grip for simplifying the handling of the disc are shown. FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of the disk shown in FIG. 4. It is a bottom perspective view of the disk shown in FIG. It is a bottom perspective view of a disk engaged with a lid for facilitating removal of the disk from the cup.

Claims (17)

A cup body having a head, a bottom, and a flat side wall, wherein the flat side wall is transparent,
At least one test strip for evaluating a urine sample and visually displaying the evaluation results;
A disk having a size that can be inserted into the cup head and suspending the test piece at a distance in the vicinity of the flat side wall portion in the cup body through which the evaluation result can be visually observed through the transparent flat side wall portion. When,
A urine collection cup for drug inspection, comprising a lid for sealing the cup head to enable transfer of the cup.   The sampling cup according to claim 1, wherein the flat side wall portion extends from the cup bottom portion to the vicinity of the cup head portion, and the test piece is arranged substantially parallel to the flat side wall portion.   The collection cup according to claim 2, wherein the cup head is circular and includes a thread for removably engaging the lid.   The collection cup according to claim 3, wherein the disk includes at least one member depending from a lower surface of the disk for detaching or gripping the test piece.   The collection cup according to claim 4, wherein the disk includes a finger grip that is disposed on an upper surface of the disk and allows the disk to be manually inserted into and removed from the cup.   The sampling cup according to claim 5, wherein the test piece can be press-fitted and gripped by providing at least two members hanging from the lower surface of the disk adjacent to each other.   The collection cup according to claim 3, wherein the disc includes a circular outer peripheral portion for sealing between the lid portion and the disc.   Means for engaging the disc with the lid when the cup is sealed with the lid, and means for allowing the disc to be removed together with the lid when the lid is removed from the cup. The collection cup according to claim 6, further comprising:   9. The collection cup assembly of claim 8, wherein the means for engaging the disc and the lid includes a flange formed on the disc and a thread formed on the lid. A cup body having a head, a bottom, and a flat side wall, wherein the flat side wall is transparent,
At least one specimen for evaluating the fluid sample and visually displaying the evaluation results;
A disk having a size that can be inserted into the cup head and suspending the test piece at a distance in the vicinity of the flat side wall portion in the cup body through which the evaluation result can be visually observed through the transparent flat side wall portion. When,
A first lid that seals the cup head and engages with the disk, the first lid being capable of removing the disk and the test piece from the cup by this engagement;
A drug-collecting cup for drug inspection, comprising a second lid for sealing the cup head in order to enable transfer of the cup.   The sampling cup according to claim 10, wherein the flat side wall portion extends from the cup bottom to the vicinity of the cup head, and the test piece is arranged substantially parallel to the flat side wall portion.   12. The collection cup of claim 11, wherein the cup head is circular and includes threads for removably engaging the first and second lid portions.   13. The collection cup according to claim 12, wherein the disk includes at least one member depending from the lower surface of the disk to detach or grip the test piece.   14. The collection cup according to claim 13, wherein the disk includes a finger grip disposed on the upper surface of the disk and allowing the disk to be manually inserted into the cup.   The sampling cup according to claim 14, wherein the test piece can be press-fitted and gripped by providing at least two members suspended from the lower surface of the disk adjacent to each other.   The sampling cup according to claim 12, wherein the disc includes a circular outer periphery for the lid to seal the cup.   17. The collection cup of claim 16, wherein the disk includes an outer peripheral flange that engages the disk and the cup by engaging the thread of the cup.

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